Investment in a Québec public-private partnership to support the use of personalized medicine solutions in the treatment of cancer patients

MONTREAL, Feb. 15, 2013 /PRNewswire/ - The Government of Québec
announced today a $10 million investment in the Personalized Medicine
Partnership for Cancer (PMPC). This public-private partnership will be
focused on establishing an integrated approach for the development and
implementation of clinical biomarkers and other personalized healthcare
solutions to improve the outcome and cost-efficiency of healthcare
services provided to cancer patients in the province of Québec and
abroad. The investment, to be disbursed over a 4 year period, will be
supplemented with $11.1 million of funding from the private sector
partners, for a total project value of $21.1 million.

The PMPC will be under the leadership of Caprion Proteome Inc., a
Montreal-based biotech company specializing in the discovery and
development of protein-based diagnostic biomarkers. The other partners
will include the Québec Clinical Research Organization in Cancer
(Q-CROC), a multidisciplinary network of clinicians, academic
scientists and other members of the medical community involved in
clinical and translational cancer research, as well as private partners
Oncozyme Pharma Inc., Pfizer Canada Inc., Sanofi Canada Inc. and TELUS
Health.

As part of the projects supported through this partnership,
state-of-the-art genomic, proteomic, bioinformatic and information
technology platforms will be implemented to develop and deploy novel
biomarkers and targeted therapeutic strategies in the healthcare system
for the treatment of lung, colon and breast cancers: "The sequence of our genome or the profile of the proteins in our blood
can be used to accurately predict disease progression or treatment
outcome. Our partnership will integrate advanced technology platforms
with clinical research to accelerate the development and clinical
deployment of novel personalized healthcare solutions. Caprion has
pioneered such strategies for years, and with our partners, we are
committed to delivering tangible results to provide more targeted
diagnosis and treatments for cancer," said Martin LeBlanc, President and Chief Executive Officer of Caprion
Proteome.

Personalized medicine has been coined to describe the use of specific
patient information gathered from tumour, blood or other specimens to
characterize disease subtype and select the optimal treatment. "The rapid progress in clinical research enables us to decipher the
underpinnings of cancer and to develop specific diagnostic tools and
targeted drugs to treat specific subtypes of common cancers such as
lung, colon or breast. It is critical that these new tools and
medicines be deployed for the benefit of patients across Québec,"said Gerald Batist, Professor of Oncology at McGill University and
Co-director of the Q-CROC and Director of the Segal Cancer Center at
the Jewish General Hospital. "While technology has been progressing rapidly, it will be critical to
prepare our healthcare system to integrate the wealth of new molecular
information and educate professionals in the practice of personalized
medicine," he added.

The PMPC project stemmed from the Stratégie québécoise de la recherche
et de l'innovation (SQRI) that was created by the Government of Québec
to advance knowledge and accelerate the deployment of innovative
personalized medicine solutions to the bedside. The partnership, in
collaboration with the Ministère de la santé et des services sociaux
(MSSS), was also built to strengthen the cooperation between the
private and the public research sectors including academic healthcare
institutions and universities.

About the Personalized Medicine Partnership for Cancer (PMPC)

The PMPC is a not-for-profit organization that aims at positioning
Québec as a global leader in personalized medicine solutions to cancer
patients. The PMPC project was selected based on the needs identified
through a large consultation of 140 Québec leaders to address the
challenges in the implementation of personalized healthcare in Québec.The broad network of partners and collaborators with expertise spanning
molecular biology, genomics, proteomics, clinical management,
pharmacoeconomics, ethics and information technology will deliver
integrated solutions to be efficiently implemented in the healthcare
system. The outcomes of the PMPC projects are expected to have a
measurable impact on the clinical diagnosis and therapeutic management
of various cancers as well as the efficiency and costs of the
healthcare system. For more information please visit www.pmpc-org.com.

About Caprion Proteome

Caprion Proteome is the leading provider of proteomics biomarker and
immune monitoring services to the pharmaceutical and biotechnology
industry. Its proprietary proteomics technology, CellCarta®, is a gel-free, label-free mass spectrometry (MS) platform that enables
a comprehensive, quantitative and robust comparative measurement of
proteins across large sets of biological samples for the discovery and
validation of protein biomarkers. Its proprietary immune monitoring
platform, ImmuneCarta®, offers multiplex cell flow cytometry analysis for functional analyses
of innate and adaptive immune responses. Caprion also leverages
CellCarta® to develop its own in-vitro diagnostic products targeting cancer, metabolic and infectious diseases. With research
sites in Montreal, Canada and in Menlo Park, CA, Caprion has a decade
of experience providing large-scale proteomics and immune monitoring
services to over 50 major pharmaceutical and biotech clients. Caprion
acquired PPD Biomarker Discovery Sciences, LLC from PPD Inc. in 2010.
Caprion also serves as a biomarker center of excellence for the U.S.
Government/NIH-NIAID for Biodefense research. For more information,
please visit www.caprion.com.

About the Quebec - Clinical Research Organization in Cancer (Q-CROC)

Q-CROC is a provincial interface for clinical research, bridging the gap
between industry, government, healthcare establishments and the
research community. To address the increasingly competitive landscape
for clinical research, Q-CROC facilitates an environment for sharing
knowledge, needs and strengths, thereby enticing the conduct of studies
in the province and providing patients with access to new innovative
treatments. Complementary to this activity, Q-CROC provides a niche of
expertise in the discovery and validation of biomarkers to predict the
response or resistance to treatment. By these engagements, Q-CROC aims
to position the province of Québec at the national and international
forefront of personalized medicine in cancer, so that patients can
access the most cutting-edge treatments. www.qcroc.ca.

About Oncozyme Pharma

Oncozyme Pharma Inc. is a Montreal-based, privately-held
biopharmaceutical company, which is developing a new approach in cancer
therapy, based on the inhibition of endo-exonuclease, a critical enzyme
regulating cancer cell proliferation. Oncozyme Pharma is committed to
bringing new anticancer drugs to market, providing patients with true
clinical benefits at a better cost/efficacy ratio. The company is
focused on the clinical development of its lead compound OCZ103 with
two ongoing phase II clinical trials in colorectal cancer and lung
cancer. Oncozyme Pharma is also developing a second generation product
of OCZ103, along with a discovery program on inhibitors of
endo-exonuclease. www.oncozyme.com.

About Pfizer Canada

Pfizer Canada Inc. is the Canadian operation of Pfizer Inc., the world's
leading biopharmaceutical company. The company is one of the largest
contributors to health research in Canada. Pfizer's diversified health
care portfolio includes biologic and small molecule medicines and
vaccines for humans, and many of the world's best-known consumer
products. To learn more about Pfizer Canada, visit www.pfizer.ca.

About Sanofi Canada

Sanofi, a global and diversified healthcare leader, discovers, develops
and distributes therapeutic solutions focused on patients' needs.
Sanofi has core strengths in the field of healthcare with seven growth
platforms: diabetes solutions, human vaccines, innovative drugs,
consumer healthcare, emerging markets, animal health and the new
Genzyme. Sanofi is listed in Paris (EURONEXT: SAN) and in New York
(NYSE: SNY). Sanofi companies in Canada include Sanofi Canada
(pharmaceuticals), Sanofi Pasteur (vaccines), Sanofi Consumer Health
(health and beauty), Genzyme (rare diseases) and Merial (animal
health). Together they employ more than 1,700 people across the
country. In 2011 Sanofi companies invested $151.7 million in R&D in
Canada, creating jobs, business and opportunity throughout the country.
www.sanofi.ca.